is destined to be of short duration. Long exposure and suffering have been too much for the child's delicate organization, and her health fails. Slowly, but surely, the end draws on, and at last she dies.

They had read and talked to her in the earlier portion of the night; but, as the hours crept on, she sunk to sleep. They could tell, by what she faintly uttered in her dreams, that they were of her journeyings with the old man: they were of no painful scenes, but of people who had helped and used them kindly; for she often said, "God bless you!" with great fervor. Waking, she never wandered in her mind but once; and that was of beautiful music which she said was in the air. God knows. It may have been.

Opening her eyes, at last, from a very quiet sleep, she begged that they would kiss her once again. That done, she turned to the old man with a lovely smile upon her face,- such, they said, as they had never seen, and never could forget, ― and clung with both her arms about his neck. They did not know that she was dead at first.

She had spoken very often of the two sisters, who, she said, were like dear friends to her. She wished they could be told how much she thought about them, and how she had watched them as they walked together by the river-side at night. She would like to see poor Kit she had often said of late. She wished there was somebody to take her love to Kit. And even then she never thought or spoke about him, but with something of her old, clear, merry laugh.

For the rest, she had never murmured or complained, but with a quiet mind, and manner quite unaltered, -save that she every day became more earnest and more grateful to them, faded like the light upon a summer's evening.

---

(Ch. i-vi, ix-xii, xv-xix, xxiv-xxxii, xlii-xlvi, lii-lv, lxxi, lxxii.) See GRANDFATHER, LITTLE NELL'S.

"Amid the wolfish malignity of Quilp, the sugared meanness of Brass, the roaring conviviality of Swiveller, amid scenes of selfishness and shame, of passion and crime, this delicate creation moves along, unsullied, purified, pursuing the good in the simple earnestness of a pure heart, gliding to the tomb as to a sweet sleep, and leaving in every place that her presence beautifies the marks of celestial footprints. Sorrows such as hers, over which so fine a sentiment sheds its consecrations, have been well said to be ill bartered for the garishness of joy; for they win us softly from life, and fit us to die smiling."— E. P. Whipple.

Trotters. See HARRIS, MR.

Vuffin. A showman; proprietor of a giant, and of a little lady without legs or arms. (Ch. xix.)

Wackles, Miss Jane. Youngest daughter of Mrs. Wackles, and instructor in the art of needlework, marking, and samplery, in the "Ladies' Seminary" presided over by her mother. (Ch. viii.) Wackles, Miss Melissa. Teacher of English grammar, composition, geography, and the use of the dumb-bells, in her mother's seminary for young ladies. She is the eldest daughter, and verges on the autumnal, having seen thirty-five summers, or thereabouts. (Ch. viii.)

Wackles, Miss Sophy. A fresh, good-humored, buxom girl of twenty; Mrs. Wackles's second daughter, and teacher of writing, arithmetic, dancing, and general fascination in the "Ladies' Seminary." An unsuccessful attempt is made to inveigle Swiveller into a match with Miss Sophy. (Ch. viii.)

Wackles, Mrs. Proprietor of a very small day-school for young ladies, at Chelsea; an excellent but rather venomous old lady of threescore, who takes special charge of the corporal punishment, fasting, and other tortures and terrors of the establishment. (Ch. viii.)

West, Dame. The grandmother of a favorite pupil of Mr. Marton's, the schoolmaster. (Ch. xxv.)

Whisker. A pony belonging to Mr. Garland, obstinate, independent, and freakish, but "a very good fellow, if you know how to manage him." (Ch. xiv, xx, xxii, xxxviii, xl, lvii, lxi, lxv, lxviii, lxxiii.)

William, Sweet. See SWEET WILLIAM.

Witherden, Mr. A notary; short, chubby, fresh-colored, brisk, and pompous. (Ch. xiv, xx, xxxviii, xl, xli, lxi, lxiii, lxv, lxvi, lxxiii.)

PRINCIPAL INCIDENTS.

CHAPTER I. Little Nell inquires the way of Master Humphrey; he goes home with her to the Old Curiosity Shop, and meets her grandfather; return of Kit from his errand; Master Humphrey, going out, is surprised that the old man is going, leaving Little Nell alone. II. Returning, drawn by curiosity, a few days after, Master Humphrey interrupts an angry controversy between the old man and his grandson; Fred Trent calls in his friend Mr. Swiveller, who gives some pacific advice; Little Nell returns. III. She is followed by Quilp; the old man keeps his secret close. IV. Mrs. Quilp and her mother. discussing with some neighbors the character of Mr. Quilp, are interrupted by the entrance of that gentleman; Quilp's kind treatment of his wife. - V. Mr. Quilp goes to his wharf, where he quarrels with his boy; Nell comes to him there with a letter. VI. Quilp takes Nell to his home on Tower Hill, where he forces Mrs. Quilp to question the child for her grandfather's secret, while he listens behind the door. VII. Fred Trent, supposing his grandfather to be very rich, conspires with Dick Swiveller to get possession of his property by the marriage of Little Nell to the latter gentleman, involving the probable disappointment of the matrimonial expectations of Miss Sophy Wackles. - VIII. Mr. Swiveller dines his friend at the expense of closing another street to his passage; Miss Sophy Wackles plays off Mr. Cheggs against Mr. Swiveller, and loses Mr. Swiveller.-IX. Nelly pleads with her grandfather to give up their way of living, and become beggars and be happy; Quilp enters, unperceived, and hears their conversation; Quilp informs the old man that he has discovered the secret of his gambling, and the old man denies that he ever played for his own sake, but always for Nelly's good; Quilp throws the old man's suspicions upon Kit.-X. Kit, after watching the house until midnight, goes home, and is soon followed

by Nelly, who informs him of the illness of her grandfather, and that he blames Kit himself as the cause. - XI. Quilp, accompanied by Sampson Brass, takes possession of the old man's property; Kit has a secret interview with Little Nell.-XII. The old man recovers, and is warned by Quilp to leave the house; he and Nell leave secretly, not knowing where they shall go. - XIII. Mr. Quilp, opening the door to his wife, falls into the hands of Mr. Richard Swiveller; Mr. Swiveller's astonishment at what has happened; Kit fights with Quilp's boy for the possession of Nelly's bird, and wins. - XIV. Kit minds the horse of Mr. and Mrs. Garland, while their son, Mr. Abel, is being articled to Mr. Witherden, and gets overpaid for the job. - XV. Nelly and her grandfather escape from London, and are befriended by a cottager's family. - XVI. They encounter Messrs. Codlin and Short, itinerant showmen, in the graveyard. – XVII. Little Nell's interview with the aged widow of a young husband; Codlin and Short invite Nell and her grandfather to go with them to the races; they encounter the stilt-walkers. - XVIII. Arrived at the Jolly Sandboys, they are joined by other showmen, and have supper. - XIX. Codlin makes warm professions of friendship, and both he and Short keep close watch of the fugitives; Nelly and her grandfather escape from their companions. - XX. Kit goes to work out the odd sixpence paid him by Mr. Garland. - XXI. He is engaged by Mr. Garland for six pounds a year; Quilp and Mr. Swiveller pursue their inquiries for the fugitives at the house of Mrs. Nubbles; the dwarf draws from Mr. Swiveller the details of the scheme he has formed with Fred Trent, and promises his assistance. - XXII. Kit becomes an inmate of Abel Cottage. .—XXIII. Mr. Richard Swiveller bemoans his orphan-state, and is adopted by Mr. Quilp; Quilp and Fred Trent, for different reasons, unite in the scheme for entrapping Nelly into a marriage with Dick Swiveller. - XXIV. Escaped from the showmen, Nell and her grandfather find their way to a quiet village, where they are kindly received by the schoolmaster. - XXV. Nell spends the morning in the schoolroom; the schoolmaster takes Nell to the sick-room of his favorite pupil, little Harry; Harry's death. XXVI. After leaving the schoolmaster, Nelly and the old man encounter Mrs. Jarley taking tea in her caravan; she gives them some supper, and carries them on their way. XXVII. Mrs. Jarley explains her business to the child, and, finding they are begging their living, offers her employment, which she gladly accepts; the child is terrified by the sight of Quilp, but, luckily, escapes being seen by him. - XXVIII. Mr. Slum receives an order from Mrs. Jarley; Nell learns the history of Mrs. Jarley's wax figures. -XXIX. Nell and her grandfather, wandering through the fields, are caught in a storm, and take refuge in the Valiant Soldier; the old man becomes excited at the sight of gambling, secures the child's purse, plays, and loses.-XXX. The old man robs Nell of the little she has left. - XXXI. She tells him of the robbery, in the hope that he will confess it; he bids her keep silent about it; Miss Monflathers receives Nell with dignity; she lectures Miss Edwards for her impropriety in doing Nell a kindness, and refuses her patronage to Mrs. Jarley's exhibition.— XXXII. The old man gambles away all Nelly's earnings; Mrs. Jarley's schemes for making her exhibition more popular. -- XXXIII. Sally Brass reproves her brother for taking a clerk; he justifies it as the request of his best client, Mr. Quilp; Quilp introduces Mr. Swiveller, who is installed as Sampson Brass's clerk. - XXXIV. Dick defines his position, and tells how he came in it; he lets the lodgings to the Single Gentleman. - XXXV. The new lodger remains singularly silent for a long time; Sampson Brass refreshes Mr. Swiveller's memory in regard to the statement made by the Single Gentleman, who is at length aroused, and expresses his desires to Mr. Richard Swiveller. - XXXVI. Mr. Swiveller finds favor in the eyes of Sally Brass; he witnesses the feeding of the small servant. — XXXVII. The Single Gentleman shows an extraordinary interest in Punch shows; he entertains Messrs. Codlin and Short, and makes particular inquiries in regard to Little Nell and her grandfather.-XXXVIII. Kit's progress in his new place; he meets the stranger gentleman at Mr. Witherden's, who questions him closely about the old man and the child, and enjoins silence thereupon; Dick Swiveller finds Kit can keep a secret. XXXIX. How Kit and his mother, and Barbara and her mother, enjoyed their half-holiday. — XL. Kit receives with some surprise the intelligence that the strange gentleman desires to take him into his service, and declines to leave Mr. Garland; the Single Gentleman informs Kit that Nell and the old man have been found; Kit declines his proposal to take him with him to bring them back, on account of the old man's feeling towards him, but recommends his mother instead. - XLI. Kit finds his mother at the Little Bethel, where he is astonished

to see Quilp also; the Single Gentleman and Mrs. Nubbles start on their journey.-XLII. Little Nell overhears the gamblers tempting her grandfather to rob Mrs. Jarley, until he consents; she sets this knowledge before him as a terrible dream she has had, and bids him fly with her from a place where such dreams come. - XLIII. The fugitives are befriended and carried on their way by some rough boatmen. - XLIV. Lost in the busy streets of a manufacturing town, they are taken by a poor workman to a foundry, where they remain through the night, in the warmth of the furnaces. XLV. They wander on in search of the open country, Nell growing very weak from hunger and fatigue; she is about to beg of a traveller on the road, when she recognizes in him their old friend the schoolmaster, and falls senseless at his feet. XLVI. The schoolmaster carries her to a neighboring inn, where she is restored; he informs them of his change of fortune, and they accompany him to his new home. - XLVII. The Single Gentleman and Mrs. Nubbles reach Mrs. Jarley's, to find that lady just married to George, and to learn that the child and her grandfather disappeared a week before, and all attempts to find them have failed.-XLVIII. Quilp's appearance at the inn to which the Single Gentleman goes, and how he came to be there. → XLIX. Quilp returns home, and interrupts the arrangements Mr. Sampson Bras 3 and Mrs. Jiniwin are making for the recovery of his body, supposing him drowned.-L. Quilp establishes himself as a jolly bachelor in the counting-house on his wharf; he pays a visit to Mr. Swiveller, whom he finds disconsolate at the marriage of Sophy Wackles to his rival, Cheggs; the dwarf learns from Dick that his friend Fred Trent and the Single Gentleman have met, with no good result; Mrs. Quilp importunes her husband to return home, but he drives her away. - LI. Quilp has an interview with Miss Brass's small servant; Quilp informs Sampson and Sally Brass that he wants Kit put out of the way, and they agree to do it. LII. The schoolmaster arranges that Nell and her grandfather shall have the care of the church, and they take possession of their new homes; their kind reception by the clergyman and the bachelor; the bachelor introduces the schoolmaster to his new pupils. LIII. Nell's talk with the old sexton. - LIV., LV. The sexton's impatience with old David; Nelly's health fails, and her friends grow anxious about her. LVI. Mr. Swiveller goes into mourning on the occasion of the marriage of Miss Sophy Wackles; Mr. Chuckster complains to Mr Swiveller that his merits are not appreciated; Sampson Brass calls Kit into his office, and begins to put his plot against him into execution. -LVII. Progress of the plot; Dick Swiveller discovers the small servant eaves-dropping; he teaches her to play cribbage, and bestows upon her the title of Marchioness. - LVIII. He learns from her how she is kept by Miss Sally: Mr. Swiveller relieves his melancholy by a little flute-playing; Miss Sally reports to Dick that some small thefts have occurred in the office; she suspects Kit, whom her brother stoutly defends. LIX. Consummation of the plot, and arrest of Kit for larceny. - LX. Kit begs to be taken to Mr. Witherden's office; on the way they encounter Quilp, who bestows his blessing on the party; astonishment of the Garlands and Mr. Witherden at the charge against Kit. LXI. Kit in prison is visited by his mother and Barbara's mother; Mr. Swiveller shows his sympathy in a mug of beer. LXII. Sampson Brass visits Quilp in his den; pleasant behavior of the facetious dwarf; he demands the discharge of Mr. Swiveller. - LXIII. Trial and conviction of Kit; Mr. Swiveller gets his discharge. LXIV. Mr. Swiveller awakes from a delirious sickness to find himself in the care of the Marchioness; she informs him how she came there, and gives him the particulars of his sickness; the Marchioness also relates to Dick the details of the plot against Kit, which she overheard through the key-hole; she goes in search of Mr. Abel Garland. - LXV. She finds him, and brings him to Dick's lodgings, where she repeats the story to him. - LXVI. The Garlands and their friends take Mr. Swiveller and the Marchioness under their protection; they attempt to draw a confession from Sally Brass, but the conference is interrupted by Sampson, who confesses the whole conspiracy; Dick Swiveller inherits a fortune, which is smaller than it might have been. - LXVII. Mrs. Quilp carries to her husband a letter from Sally Brass, informing him of the discovery of their schemes, and warning him of his danger; he drives his wife away, and groping in the darkness to escape the officers, who are already on his track, he falls into the river, and is drowned. - LXVIII. Kit is released, and welcomed home by his friends; Mr. Garland notifies him to prepare for a journey to meet Nell and her grandfather; Kit has an understanding with Barbara; the Single Gentleman, Mr. Garland, and Kit start on their journey; the Single Gentleman relates his story to Mr. Garland. - LXX. They arrive at the town

after midnight; the old sexton is disturbed; Kit discovers the old man brooding over the fire. LXXI. The old man knows neither Kit nor his brother; Nelly is dead. - LXXII. Her burial is kept a secret from her grandfather; the old man is found dead on the child's grave. LXXIII. Sampson Brass, after serving out his sentence, joins his sister in the wretched neighborhood of St. Giles's; Mrs. Quilp marries again and lives happily; Mr. Abel Garland becomes the head of a family; Mr. Swiveller bestows upon the small servant the name of Sophronia Sphynx, educates, and finally marries her; sad end of Frederick Trent; the Single Gentleman rewards all who befriended his brother; the family history of Kit and Barbara.